Safety device for electric-railway systems.



No. 757,107. PATENTED APR. 12, 1904.

G. GIBBS.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAY SYSTEMS.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 26, 1903. N0 MODEL.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No.757,107. I .PATBNTED APR. 12, 1904. S

G. GIBBS.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR ELEOTRIG RAILWAY SYSTEMS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 2a, 1903. N0 MODEL: 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

TINTTED STATES Patented April 12, 1904.

PATENT FFICE.

GEORGE GIBBS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR ELECTRIC-RAILWAY SYSTEMS- SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent No. 757,107, dated April 12, 1904.

Application filed August 26, 1903. Serial No. 170,776. (No model.) V

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE GIBBS, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of New York, county of New York, State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety Devices forElectric- Railway Systems, of which the following is a specification.

In the operation of electric railways itis customary to provide workingconductors in the shape of overhead trolleys, wires, or other forms ofnaked overhead conductors or in the shape of third rails or conductorslaid at or near the track from which working conductors the current iscollected for the moving trains by suitable trolleys or shoes. It isalso customary to feed a working conductor of this sort at a suitablepoint or points by feed-wires in which are inserted circuit-breakers orfuses to cut ofi the current from the conductor in case of short circuitor excessive current from any cause. When circuit-breakers are used forinterrupting the current under these circumstances, they are usuallyoperated electromagnetically through the actionof trip-coils, whichrelease a circuit-breaking arm, the latter being adapted to make aquickrupture of the circuit. In heavy railway operation, however, it isnecessary to adjust the circuitbreaker so as to carry heavy currentbefore it opens inasmuch as the demands of normal operation in thesystem require large amounts of current. In case fuses are employed, tosay nothing of a certain amount of unreliability in devices of thischaracter, it has been found that partial grounds, short circuits, andother causes are often sufficient to occasion arcs of great intensitywithout the fuses beby making the conductor dead) and before any arcsthat are formed can do appreciable damage.

In one form the device consists of an auxiliary trip-coil for eachcircuit-breaker, these coils being located in an auxiliary circuit, orin another form it may consist of an auxils iary circuit-breaker inseries with each main circuit-breaker in the feed-wire circuit, thearrangement being such in either case that 011 the passage of a verysmall current the main circuit-breaker will be tripped independently ofthe main trip-coil or the auxiliary circuitbreaker will open thefeed-circuit and make the conductor dead. The auxiliary circuit isenergized by the contact of the working conductorwith suitablecooperating contacts placed along the line and near the said conductor,so as to close an auxiliary electric circuit.

These safety devices are normally inactive and only come into play incase-of derangement of the working conductor or the auxiliary circuit byaccident.

I have illustrated my invention as being applied to a third-rail systemof railway operation, although the same principle may be applied toother systems.

In the drawings which illustrate my invention, Figure l is a diagram ofa third-rail system of electric railways having my invention appliedthereto. Fig. 2 is a detail view of the contacts of my special device.Fig. 3 is a similar view of a modification, and Fig. 4: is an enlargeddetailview of a circuit-breaker.

Referring to the drawings, 1 and 2 are the rails of an electric-railwaytrack, and 3 represents a portion of a truck traveling thereon.

At 4 is shown a rotary converter or other type of electric generator,the same being assumed to be located at asubstation or in case nosubstations are employed in the main power-station along therailway-line and to be connected with conductors 5 and 6, constitutingthe bus-wires. The conductor 6 is connected with the rails 1 and 2,while the eonduotor 5 is connectedthrough a suitable circuit-breaker 7feeding a third rail 8, extending alongside the track.

The description given up to this point would apply to many railwaysystems already in use. I add to the system thus described a conductor 9and a branch conductor 10, the former be-.

ing arranged to parallel the third rail 8 and the latter being connectedthrough a trip-coil 11 to the conductor 6. The coil 11 is wound withcomparatively small wire and serves as an auxiliary trip-coil for thecircuit-breaker 7 as shown at the left in Fig. 1, or as the tripcoil foran auxiliary circuit-breaker in series with the main breaker, asillustrated at the right in the same figure.

The conductor 9 is connected at intervals to contacts arranged close tothe third rail, there being one or more such contacts near each sectionof said rail. These contacts are shown at 12 12 in Fig. 1 and areillustrated in detail in Figs. 2 and 3. Referring to Fig. 2, it will beseen that I provide a metallic bracket 13, supported upon a suitableinsulating-tie 14 and having projections extending inwardly at the topwhich overlap the base of the third rail 8. Any suitableconnectionsuch,for instance, as that shown in Fig. 2-may be used forbringing the wire 9 into metallic contact with the bracket 13. As shownin Fig. 2, a conducting-plate 15 presses the said wire down into contactwith the base of the bracket, the means of compression being screws 1616.

In Fig. 3 I provide separate brackets 17 17 on opposite sides of thethird rail 8 and apply thereto, through the medium of bolts 18 18 andinsulating-pieces 19 19, conducting-strips 20 2O in the form of flatmetallic pieces, as shown. These strips are connected in any suitableWay with the conductor 9.

The details of the circuit-breaker appearing at the left in Fig. 1 willnow be described, it being understood that the particular circuitbreakershown is merely illustrated in typical form and that the structure maybevaried very widely.

The main trip-magnet is shown at 21 and its armature at 22, the latterbeing pivoted at 23 to an insulating-support 24. The switch contact-armis shown at 25 as being pressed by a spring 26 away from contact withthe cooperating contact-terminal 27. The spring 26 may be supported insuitable housing 38, mounted on the support 24, and the contactterminal27 will generally be mounted on the said support.

The movable terminal 25 is provided with a handle 28, by means of whichit can be restored when the contact is broken, and it also has anextension 29 formed into a catch at its top and adapted to engage with alug 30 on the under side of the armature 22. The auxiliary trip-magnet11 is also adapted to act upon the armature 22, its action being aidedby the much greater leverage which it has with respect to the saidarmature, being located near the outer end thereof. By proper adjustmentof the positions of the trip-coils 11 and 21 and the armature 22 theamount of electrical energy required to be developed in the respectivecoils can be regulated at will.

Toward the right in Fig. 1 I illustrate an organization in which themain circuit-breaker 7 is of the usual character and in which the coil11 is utilized to operate an auxiliary circuit-breaker in series withthe main circuit-breaker. It will be seen that the action of the coil 11in this instance, as in that already described in detail, serves to openthe feed-wire circuit independently of the main trip-coil 21, as bothcircuit-breakers are in series in the feed-wire circuit. The principleof operation will be readily understood.

So long as the system is in normal operation the additional deviceswhich I have hereinbefore described do not play any part. In case,however, of derailment or any other accident which might bring the thirdrail into contact with the bracket 13, Fig.- 2, or the conducting-strips20 20, Fig. 3, or either of them, there would be immediately formed acomplete circuit extending from the conductor 5 through thecircuit-breaker 7,the bracket 13, for example, the conductor 9, theconductor 10, and the auxiliary trip-coil 11. Whereas now the maintrip-coil of the magnet would in systems designed for heavy traflic beadapted to carry large currents without actuating the trip and whereasunder such circumstances destructive arcs might be formed in manneralready described, yet with the auxiliary tripcoil present the smallamount of current passing through it will be quite sufficient to releasethe trip. When this happens, the feed-circuit is opened, and all dangerof serious arcing is removed.

The magnet 11 is preferably in the form of a solenoid, having its coresuitably connected to the armature 22, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and4.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination with an electric-railwaysystem includinga working conductor and the usual circuit-breakers, ofan auxiliary circuit, and means capable of being energized by currentflowing in said auxiliary circuit for opening the feed-circuit, aterminal of the said auxiliary circuit being in proximity to the workingconductor.

2. The combination with an electric-railway system including a workingconductor and feed-wires normally connected therewith, of an auxiliarycircuit including means for rupturing the feed-circuit, a terminal ofthesaid auxiliary being in proximity to the working conductor and adaptedto cooperate therewith in case of a derangement of the system.

3. The combination with an electric-railway system including a Workingconductor, the usual circuit-breakers, and trip-coils therefor, ofsupplementary circuit-breakers in the feed- IIO wires and an auxiliarycircuit containingatrip-coil for operating the'said supplementarycircuit-breakers, a terminal of the said circuit being in proximity tothe working conductor.

4. The combination with an electric-railway system including a Workingconductor, the usual circuit-breakers, and trip-coils therefor, of anauxiliary circuit containing a supplementary trip-coil? and a contact inproximity to the working conductor constituting one terminal of the saidauxiliary circuit.

5. The combination with an electric-railway system, including a Workingconductor, feedwires, circuit-breakers, and main trip-coils for the saidcircuit-breakers, of a series of contacts arranged in proximity to theworking conductor, an auxiliary circuit running to the said contacts,and supplementary trip-coils for the circuit breakers, such trip coilsbeing adapted to operate the trips with comparatively small amounts ofelectrical energy.

6. The combination with an electric-railway system including a workingconductor, feedwires, circuit-breakers, and main trip-coils for the saidcircuit-breakers, of a series of contacts arranged in proximity to theworking conductor, an auxiliary circuit running to the said contacts,and supplementary trip-coils for the circuit-breakers, such trip-coilsbeing made effective by one or more of its cooperating contacts.,

7. In an electric-railway system, a working conductor, feed-wirestherefor, circuit-breakers included in the feed-wires, main trip-coilsfor the said circuit-breakers, and supplementary trip-coils therefor, incombination with means whereby the circuit-breakers can be operatedindependently of the said main tripcoils, such means consisting of anauxiliary circuit adapted to be operated by a disturbance of the workingconductor, as set forth.

8, In an electric-railway system a working conductor, feed-wirestherefor, circuit-breakers included in the feed-wires, and maintripcoils for the said circuit-breakers, in combination withcircuitcontrollers cooperating with the working conductor, an auxiliarycircuit connected with the said circuit-controllers, and supplementarytrip-coils in the circuit of the said controllers, the saidsupplementary trip-coils being adapted to operate the circuit-breakersin response to the action of the circuit-controllers.

9. The combination with an electric-railway system having a sectionalworking conductor and feed-wires normally connected therewith, eachfeed-wire containing a circuit-breaker, of an auxiliary circuitincluding means for rupturing the feed-circuits, the said auxiliarycircuit having a terminal in operative relation to each section, andmeans whereby a relative movement between any section and itscorresponding. terminal operates the circuitbreaker.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,this 25th day of August, A. D. 1903.

GEORGE GIBBS.

Witnesses:

WM. H. CAPEL, THOS. H. BROWN, Jr.

